CREMNal
by fanaticalParadox
Summary: All her life Cinder has wanted to be a famous singer, but to get there she needs a band. Follow her as she gets through her complicated family life, goes through college, and finds talent in the most unlikely forms. (Real life/band AU)


CREMNal

Authors Note: yep! Another... Pilot episode? Idk. Review if you like it.

*disclaimer*

Chapter One: Criminal

 _I've been a bad, bad girl_

 _And I've been careless with a delicate man_

She stroked her scarlet lips against the microphone rasping out a soft chorus. She tilted her shoulders as she gripped it gracefully, black locks framing her well-defined cheekbones, cascading over her left shoulder, curling around her beasts. She was the epitome of sex and beauty. Her hips swung with each note, her eyes glowed mysteriously. Whoever didn't want to fuck her right now was probably related to her. No matter who you were, you'd agree that Cinder Fall was hot.

 _Because he's all I ever knew of love_

She belted the last notes of the song, letting them ring out through the club. She decided to take the original lyric and vamp on it, using the ribbons of the initial melody to tie gorgeous bows. The bartender clapped slowly and appreciatively. She blinked a few times, flipping her dark hair out of her eyes, showing off those thick lashes and molten gold eyes.

"How was that?" she asked uneasily, though her face and stance oozed confidence. The bartender, Junior, smiled at her- whipping out a glass of scotch for the singer. "Come here Cin."

He motioned to one of the seats in front of him. She strode down from the stage, black heels clicking against the dance floor, and sat down, lifting the offered scotch to her lips and letting it cool her still-buzzing lips before swallowing. The burn of alcohol down her throat sent a jolt of pleasure down her spine.

"So, am I good enough for 'Junior's 2.0'?" she joked, scotch still in hand. She shook it around a bit, watching the ice clink together.

"You are good, Cin," he reassured her "I know that much."

She smiled, blushing slightly. Junior had been like a father figure to her ever since her mom had deemed her "no longer in need of an adult influence", and dropped her off at a nightclub of all places where her brother in law would fix all the broken things about her reality. Outside of Junior, Cinder held softness for few people in her life, which made it hard to form any meaningful relationships.

She was good friends with Junior's nephew, Roman, who was a concert pianist. A prodigal son of the sheet music gods. But one friend and one father figure wasn't the strongest list of people that you care about.

Cinder didn't really do caring. She cared about herself and her dream (which in the end was about herself so no change there). She lived in her singing, her songwriting (though she hadn't actually finished writing a song), all she wanted was to put herself out there and be the best at what she loved. She wanted little mini-Cinders thinking about her when they thought about music. She wanted to be known. All she needed was a record deal and a person to give her that deal.

Junior turned around to his shelves, dragging his finger lightly across the liquor bottles, a scale of chinks. He made it to his top shelf liquor, the stuff he could charge hundreds of dollars for- even though it tasted the same as the free scotch Cinder was drinking now. He pulled out a bottle, it had amber colored glass and a calligraphic label. He poured himself a glass before sitting across from her, reaching for a cigarette. When it reached his lips, after a long dramatic drag, he finally spoke.

"You're good, but I can't work with acapella anymore." he gave her a sympathetic smile as her face fell.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she demanded, fist clenched around her tumbler. She was practically oozing nightclub material, raspy voice and sex appeal.

"You're the best goddamn singer I know, don't get me wrong," he pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the nervous sweat from his brow as he continued, her glare would make anyone nervous. "it's just that now that we've renovated Juniors, we need something more lively and... Nightclub-y!"

He swallowed again, taking another drag of his cigarette and another sip of liquor. "Every band that's accompanied you has... Well, they've basically quit the music biz, what with your temper and expectations..." he trailed off, finally meeting her eyes "if you want to play original songs, then you'll need to get some sort of accompaniment. I'm sorry Cin."

She sighed, looking down at her drink, reflection distorting in the liquid. The ice had melted.

She thought back for a minute, Junior wasn't wrong. Back when the club was just a hole in the wall pub, and he'd let Cinder sing whenever she liked, he always pushed for her to hire an accompanist. He'd call musicians and bands he knew and get them to accompany her... It never really worked out. The first few bands thought her an amateur, the next few- Cinder treated as such. She had what Junior called her "vision". She wanted her songs exactly as she heard them in her head, and these bands couldn't understand her, or her head.

She held back tears. She never cried- ever. But this was her dream; performing, singing, being a star! She understood why Junior was finally putting his foot down, but that didn't mean she was going to give up. Cinder Fall never gave up.

Her molten eyes meet his beady black ones. "What if... What if I find a band to accompany me?"

He chuckles "Then you could perform here. And I'd give whoever had the stones to work with you a pat on the back and a bottle of the hard stuff."

Cinder laughed and returned to her drink, thinking long and hard about what she was going to do.

"Hello? I'm home!"

She kicks her heels off into the foyer. A strangled meow from her cat, Amber, told her that she missed the foyer. She dropped her bags by the door and locked the massive entrance behind her.

Her parents' house was incredibly huge, to say the least. Her mom, Salem Fall, was the CEO of a major company- while her dad, Hazel Fall, was the head of his own restaurant chain. The two didn't actually care about one another, or their daughter apparently.

The mansion had three major floors, not including the basement and attic, and the Fall "family" only made use of about one and a half. Two bedrooms and an office on the second floor, and the kitchen/common room on the ground floor. It was an empty home. Cinder liked to say that that's why she was usually so heartless- home and heart were interconnected, right?

She wasn't an only child; she had a bother, Tyrian. Tyrian was basically the child you'd expect from two neglectful parents who had enough money to keep their kid quiet. The only difference between him and Cinder was that he couldn't care less about it.

She headed up the stairs, looking down over the pristine tile floors and emotionless walls. A sigh escaped her lips, alcohol on her breath. She still had an essay to write for her literature class. She was fine with reading, and did enjoy a good book every once in awhile, but she still hated university. She hated school and hated teachers and hated her major.

Her mom didn't care about her daughter maybe, but she did care about her major in college. "You'll be going to business school, no matter what, take advantage of my money and make a name for yourself."

She wanted to make a name for herself, but through her talent- not her money.

Her room was taken out of a punk rock movie- dark walls, colored lights, black and red and sex. Posters lined her walls. Needless to say, she loved her room.

When she flopped onto her bed, she immediately opened her laptop, starting on her dumb literature assignment. However, over the course of her first paragraph- a melody came to her mind, echoing into her vocal chords as a soft hum.

By the time lyrics came to mind, she was no longer writing an essay on the political impacts of Shakespeare's "Hamlet", and instead writing a gorgeous song about how much she despised Hamlet (though it was worded much more eloquently thank you very much.)

As she worked, it became very apparent that this was what she wanted to do with her life, and that getting a band was paramount to achieving that goal.

Hamlet lay forgotten on her bedside table.

AN: Okay so just review if you want more of this! I already have a draft of Coven Ch2 and Rats of Reality Ch6 so don't worry about that. I've actually had this band idea in mind but have been too lazy/ busy to actually do it. If I end up actually finishing it, it'll be 10 or 11 much longer chapters, and a sequel following team RWBY as a band, in the same universe. Anyhow, bye.


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